Apple files for Multi-touch mouse patent

Fueling the flames of speculation that those much desired multi-touch features will make their way into the next generation of Mac notebooks and desktops, Apple has filed for a patent for a “mouse with optical sensing surface.”

This buttonless pointing device could sense the position of your fingers for a variety of gestural and positional control options. Will we actually see this thing, or does the patent solely exist so that no one else can come up with the idea? Who knows? This is Apple after all, but we’ll see soon enough…